Make flowers with play dough to promote fine motor fun with toddlers. This activity is a great way to welcome spring and summer and explore the changing seasons.
Play Dough Flowers
Flower crafts and activities provide colorful sensory play in spring and summer. Using play dough or clay to make flowers supports early developmental skills.
Toddlers engage fingers and hands to enhance fine motor skills as they work with the clay. They use senses to explore the texture, smell and colors of the dough, spatial concepts to place parts of a flower on the tray, and language to communicate with you as they play.
What you need for Play Dough Flowers
The only supplies needed are play dough in two or three different colors. Use store-bought or homemade play dough for this activity.
If you are buying playdough I highly recommend a pack like this (available HERE on Amazon).
Add scissors, craft sticks or other fine motor tools for interest and additional fine motor work if preferred.
Show your toddler how to roll a piece of play dough with fingers or palm to make a strip for the stem of the flower.
Shape the top part of a flower by pressing a piece of play dough flat with fingers and palms.
Press a craft stick into the flat piece of play dough to outline petals.
Roll tiny pieces of play dough to make seeds for the inside of the flower.
You can also make petals by squeezing small pieces of play dough between two fingers. Place petals around a small round inside part of the flower which holds the pollen.
Shape leaves with small pieces of play dough. Roll or flatten the clay to form leaves.
These shapes will be unique to the creative and fine motor skills of your toddler.
There is no right or wrong way to make the flowers. Flowers will all look different, and each flower will be pretty on its own.
Talk about the colors and shapes your toddler is using as she plays.
What is your favorite color?
You made a pink flower and a blue flower.
Let’s count the leaves on the stem.
You’ll be supporting language skills and beginning math skills as you count and sort colors and number of flower parts.
Play dough is always a popular activity with both kids and grownups. It’s easy to set up and clean up and takes little instruction to jump right in and play.
We would love to see a photo of your play dough creation – why not share it in our Facebook Group or over on Instagram (follow @myboredtoddler )
Some more toddler activity ideas you might enjoy are:
Edible Ice Cream Dough Sensory Play
About the Author:
Heather is a former preschool teacher and founder of preschooltoolkit.com, a website providing early learning resources for teachers and parents. She focuses on creating fun crafts and activities that engage developmental skills while promoting hands-on learning through play. Follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram
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